Microsoft Monopoly Trial

Paper Summary:

This paper summarizes some of the key issues in Microsoft's monopoly trial from the perspectives of Microsoft and computer users. Several of the terms Microsoft has used to define its marketing and overall corporate objectives are defined, such as "killer application." Microsoft's Internet browser is used as an example of the corporation's most recent "killer app." The issues of the trial are also discussed from the perspective of the user, which is to ultimately find the application that best suits her needs. The author concludes that usability and competition work hand in hand for or against the success of a product.

From the Paper:

"A document released by the Microsoft Company reads, "Our industry is always looking for the next 'Killer Application' - for a category of software that, by its utility and intelligent design, becomes indispensable to millions of people ...". "The latest confirmed 'Killer App' is the web browser". When asked what Bill Gates himself meant by defining a web browser as a "Killer Application", he claims to have meant that browsing would be simply "very popular". Upon this response, The Microsoft Computer Dictionary is used to provide two definitions of the term "Killer App": 1) An application of such popularity and widespread standardization that it fuels sales of the hardware platform or operating system for which it was writing (in this case Windows); and 2) An application that supplants its competition. The latter is something that
Microsoft's browser has certainly managed to do."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Online News Hour. "Microsoft On Trial". Oct. 22, 1998. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
• -- "Microsoft Monopoly". Oct. 19, 1998. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
• Seltzer, Wendy. "Openlaw: The Microsoft Case". Oct., 2002. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/msdoj/trial.html
• Wikipedia. "United States v. Microsoft". 5 Nov. 2006. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft

More papers on Microsoft Monopoly Trial:

• Analytical Essay # 16470 : "Microsoft Monopoly"
• Analytical Essay # 131676 : "Microsoft: Is it a Monopoly?"
• Persuasive Essay # 124447 : "Marketing at Microsoft"

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